Preventing low birthweight and reduction of child mortality

Abstract

Surprisingly little attention is paid to birthweight improvement as a means of reducing child mortality. Half of the 10 million pre-school-age children that die each year have malnutrition as an underlying or associated cause. Furthermore, the majority of these deaths are associated with the mild and moderate forms of malnutrition, reflecting how this effect is manifest across the whole population distribution. Similar relationships are seen between birthweight and neonatal mortality, with the least risk of neonatal death occurring in children born weighing more than 3.5 kg. Child malnutrition is increasingly recognized to be largely determined during the period of fetal and infant growth, when maternal nutrition has its strongest influence. Although the effects of maternal food supplements on mean birthweight are relatively small, because of their influence across the population distribution they have great biological significance. An increase of 100 g in mean birthweight is associated with a 30-50% reduction in neonatal mortality. The programmes that need to be put in place to improve maternal nutritional status are discussed, and the programme initiatives being promoted by UNICEF to prevent low birthweight, including multiple micronutrient supplementation trials are further described.

Prevalence and Factors Associated with Low Birth Weight in Axum and Laelay Maichew Districts, North Ethiopia: A Comparative Cross Sectional Study

“…They suffer from extremely high rates of morbidity and mortality from infectious disease, and underweight, stunting or wasting beginning in the neonatal period through childhood [6]. Low birth weight babies usually need extra hospital care, and there is a constant concern and uncertainty over future health outcomes [8].…”

“…Despite this, LBW remains a major public health problem in the world especially in many subSaharan African countries where the global and sub-Saharan African prevalence of LBW is 15.5% and from 13% to 15%, respectively [2,9]. These figures are higher than the target of a reduction in the incidence of LBW to no more than 10% set by the World summit for children [2] and this much amount of LBW rate at term is a major public health problem [6] which represents scant progress, considering that babies born at LBW face the most severe risks [11] that contributes to 60 to 80% of all neonatal deaths [12].…”

“…Despite the presence of these prevention options and efforts, LBW remains a formidable public health challenge for the 21 st century and more research is needed to illuminate how the many factors affecting LBW interact, because for every clear finding, there are numerous unanswered questions [6,11].…”

Maternal Low-Protein Diet or Hypercholesterolemia Reduces Circulating Essential Amino Acids and Leads to Intrauterine Growth Restriction

“…n humans, malnutrition during pregnancy results in babies with lower birth weight and an increased risk of neonatal mortality and morbidity (1). Low birth weight is also associated with an increased risk for certain chronic diseases, including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and hypertension (2)(3)(4).…”

Aetiology of Perinatal Mortality- A Study in a Rural Setting

“…For babies with birth weights between 2.25 and 2.5 kg, the infant mortality is almost 5 times greater than for babies weighing more than 2.5 kg. An increase in 100 g in mean birth weight is associated with a 30-50% reduction in neonatal mortality 9,10 . In our study also low birth weight was the most common cause of perinatal mortality (28.80%).…”